On this last point, Pogue quotes a letter he got from a young Chinese man who is now at school at a US university:

My aunt worked several years in what Americans call “sweat shops.” It was hard work. Long hours, “small” wage, “poor” working conditions. Do you know what my aunt did before she worked in one of these factories? She was a prostitute.

Circumstances of birth are unfortunately random, and she was born in a very rural region. Most jobs were agricultural and family owned, and most of the jobs were held by men. Women and young girls, because of lack of educational and economic opportunities, had to find other “employment.”

The writer goes on to say that he is upset by the way many Americans view this issue.

Specifically, he says, Americans don't understand how few opportunities there are in China relative to the United States. And he argues that hiring more workers and paying them lower wages is better than being forced to pay higher wages to fewer workers:

If Americans truly care about Asian welfare, they would know that shutting down “sweat shops” would force many of us to return to rural regions and return to truly despicable “jobs.” And I fear that forcing factories to pay higher wages would mean they hire FEWER workers, not more.

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I find the premise to be flawed. David Pogue never bothers to ask why it is that these Chinese workers are so desperate that they will take a slave wage job at Foxconn. He also doesn't ask why Foxconn has such a high turnover rate, despite the fact that its workers are, indeed, desperate.

The answer to either of these questions would completely undercut his argument.

Chinese people are desperate because the Chinese government has engineered desperation through its policies of massive over-development, seizing land and forcing millions of people out of their homes and communities. 140 million farmers have had their land seized, according to an article BI reported on. Most of these people previously had a comfortable, albeit unglamorous, lifestyle. You can read about the life of a Chinese farmer here:

To me, Pogue's post rings true to my experience living in China. Although the working conditions may seem terrible to us, to many Chinese they are an improvement. I think "improvement" is the key word. Despite the stories of riches there are still many (majority given the population) people in China who live in abject poverty. One only needs to drive 15 minutes from Beijing's CBD to see people living in earthen homes without electricity or running water. The idea that folks living in this sort of poverty see something like Fox Con as an improvement, to me, is not beyond belief. Again about "improvement." I think if you asked most people in China they would say they have seen their lives improve over the last 10-15 years. Better pay and rights for workers are something they are going to have to fight for, for themselves. Unfortunately, they seem to be at odds with the Chinese government economic plans for rapid growth. Anyway, I think us in the US should focus on our own workers and unemployment problems not China's.